Heres a little bit more about medical ethics. This is a large area to cover as there are many issues surrounding it. As technology gets better and the capability of better medical appliances becomes available, this subject carries on to grow. Below is a summary of a book on medical ethics, and i think it sums it up well.
One of the most difficult problems that confronts clinicians and medical professionals is how to apply ethical principles to real decisions affecting patients. In this even-handed book, Foster examines the three main approaches to moral decision-making: goal-based, duty-based and rights-based. She examines the underlying philosophical arguments behind each, their relative strengths and weaknesses, and how they can actually be applied. She also looks at the problematic boundaries where best practice ends and experimentation begins. Is it ethical to experiment with new cures on people who are probably dying anyway? And how do you assess quality of consent? This book provides a thorough, non-partisan grounding in what the ethical principles are and what informs them. It is an invaluable preparation both for a researcher being interviewed by an ethics committee and for the people sitting on the committee, and will be essential reading for all medical decision-makers.
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Summery of the book: The Ethics of Medical Research on Humans, by Claire Foster, 2001 issue, on the website http://www.cambridge.org/gb/knowledge/isbn/item1160137/?site_locale=en_GB. retrieved 11/11/2010
The most important points that should be covered in medical ethics are autonomy, benedicence, non-maleficence, justice, dignity, and truthfulness and honesty.
ReplyDeleteAutonomy is a gereral indicator of health. It recognises rights of the individuals to self determination. Individuals must have the ability to make informed decisions about personal matters. This is the basis for informed consent.
Beneficence are the actions towards the wellbeing and care of others. Therefore any actions must be in the best interest of the patient.
Non-Maleficence is to decide what is more important. Is is better to harm a patient than do them good? This is mainly to do with practioners practising treatments that havent fully been researched or evaluated. They may end up doing more harm than good.
Justic concerns the distribution of scarce health resources, and the decision of who gets what treatment. All patients should be treated fairly and as equals.
The patients must be treated with respect and dignitity when be treated.
When consent is needed, the person treating the patient must be honest and truthful about what is going to happen to them, what treatment they need, how bad or good their situation is etc before getting consent.